To Support And Heal
by FreedomRiders
Summary: Astrid finds her boyfriend, Hiccup at the local tavern. When she catches him drinking his sorrows away, she knows there's a problem for the newly appointed Chief of Berk. Having witnessed everything after fighting the Bewilderbeast, she's not so sure Hiccup is still healed after the battle, or his loss. (Takes place after HTTYD2)


**AN: This takes place after the 2nd Movie**

It was a month after the defeat of Drago's Bewilderbeast, and a month after Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was appointed chief of Berk. Things were peaceful, and a lot more in control after Valka had returned to her son.

Astrid walked through the night, seeing the nearby tavern with the lanterns shining through the windows. She could hear laughing and cheering, as well as song and the thunks of wooden tankards on the bar counter. Walking in, she was greeted with quite a sight. The entire bar was pretty empty except for Gobber, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Snotlout, and a few select other people. But what surprised her the most was Hiccup.

Her lover was sitting at the middle of the counter, chugging a rather large tankard of mead. The others were cheering at the boy's brashness with alcohol, and he showed no signs of stopping.

Upon slamming the tankard to the wooden counter, the others cheered and laughed loudly with mirth and enjoyment. Astrid sighed as she walked over to the bar. "Hey, Hiccup-" she said, before she stopped talking. Hiccup had reached over and grabbed another full tankard, before lifting it to his lips and downing the unhealthy but admittedly uplifting beverage down his throat, some of the alcohol dribbling down his neck and staining the collar of his shirt. The others were in shock, but went back to laughing.

Astrid's brow furrowed, as she looked to the counter and saw four more empty tankards Hiccup had most likely gone through. She was brought out of her line of thought as a large bulky hand slapped her shoulder.

"Aye, Hofferson! How nice of ya to join us! Mead?" Gobber offered as he held out his tankard hand prosthetic to the girl. Astrid looked back and forth from the the offered beverage, back to the strange and depressing sight of a wildly guzzling Hiccup at the counter.

"Uh, no thanks. What's wrong with Hiccup? I know he's never drank before, but now he's chugging it as if he's making up for lost time or something," Astrid said, worriedly.

"Aye, he came up and said he'd needed something to 'lift his spirits'. I figured a tankard is two wouldn't hurt," Gobber said, scratching his beard.

"But...That is _way_ more than two," Astrid pointed out, staring at the four-no, now five empty tankards on the counter as Hiccup let out a loud belch, much to the amusement of Tuffnut, who tried to out-burp the young chief.

"Ehh...he had a break between drinks?" Gobber said, uncertainly. Astrid sighed as she strolled over to the bar.

As Hiccup finished his breather and water drink, he was about to get to his sixth tankard when Astrid yanked the wooden mug away from his reach. "Hey, whyy did yuu do thaa?" he slurred. "Ah w, uhh, Ah wasnn finnisshed yet..."

"Because that's not good for you. You're binging, Hiccup. You'll most likely kill your self doing that," Astrid said, her tone disapproving and upset. "I thought you of all people would be self aware of your own health."

"Welll excuuuse me..." Hiccup grumbled, turning away and pouting, before burping. "Actually, excuus me."

Astrid fought a grin as the severe reality of what Hiccup was doing hit her again. "Come on, you need to stop now, before you pass out and hit your head or something. You have your dragon to look after, right?"

Hiccup looked away, a bit shameful, before his expression turned defiant. He snatched the tankard and took a large gulp from it before turning to Astrid with a victorious and smug grin, which looked ridiculous due to his intoxication.

Astrid shoved the tankard away and yanked Hiccup out of the bar stool. "Can you not? I really don't want you to do this. You have your duties as chief to think about," she lectured.

"Come on, Astrid! He's been stressing about being chief long enough. Let him get loose for a little, OK?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah, don't be a stick up the ass," Ruffnut said, as Gobber drank his own mead nearby.

"I'd rather not let my boyfriend murder himself in the most pitiful way possible," Astrid said, tiffing her slurring boyfriend away, hearing the sound of his metal foot dragging on the floor.

"But Imm becomin' a man! Like dadd would've wanned..." Hiccup whined. Astrid stopped, as did everyone else. The death of Stoick the Vast was a personal blow to everyone, and they knew Hiccup had been taking it hard.

"On second thought...lemme help you get him home," Ruffnut said. Tuffnut and the others started to clean up the bar, as the two blonde girls dragged the chief out of the tavern.

The moment they left, Hiccup fell out of their arms and landed on the ground, before helplessly and violently vomiting everything he'd consumed onto the dirt. Ruffnut and Astrid winced as the vomiting went on for half a minute.

When he was done, Astrid hauled him up before he could collapse in his own stomach fluids. "I'll handle it," she said, softly. "I need to talk with him for a bit."

Ruffnut nodded, before walking slowly back to the tavern. When she was gone, Astrid went back to carrying her drunken boyfriend. After about ten minutes of stumbling around and helpless gibberish, they made it to Hiccup's house.

Hiccup slumped on the stairs as Astrid sat next to him. Her eyes were full of worry and fright for the mess of a human next to her. "Hey, what's the matter?" she asked, softly.

Hiccup looked goofy as he swayed back and forth. "Who...me? Pfft. Nawwwe, me goood, Asssss...triddd," he giggled. Astrid had to hide a giggle at his silly behavior, before going back to her serious train of thought.

"What's wrong with you? Ever since we won, you been impossible. You refuse to see any of us, you refuse to see me. You're always trying to work, you haven't seen Toothless in a while. He's real worried, you know?" Astrid said. She reached out and grasped his trembling hand. "And I am too."

Hiccup seemed to sober up a bit. His swaying slowed and he had a frown on his face. "Look...I'm sorry about...not seein' youuu. But Ah gotta be chief to Berrk, yu know? Dad did reel good at being leader..." he mumbled. "And I gotta be aas guud-"

"No you don't! He didn't have dragons like you do! Like we do! You don't need to stress over this, or try to improve, because you're you. You're the adorable, shy, and sexy Hiccup Haddock I know and love," Astrid said, cupping his cheek. The young man only responded by looking away.

"But it's not enough...it never has..." Hiccup moaned, as Astrid's expression fell.

"What...what do you mean?" she asked. She had a bad feeling of what it was he was talking about.

"At night...I see him. Dad. He says he's always...always proud o' me...saying I did good for him. But I hear 'im saying I could do better. I have to..." Hiccup said, before coughing violently for a bit. Astrid pat his back, in an attempt to calm down his coughing fit.

"You could. There's always room to improve. I know your dad. He would want you to be the best you could be, to reach the fullest potential he raised you to reach!" Astrid tried to convince her boyfriend. But he wasn't having it.

"I could've saved him!" he cried. "I was so focused on turning Drago that I l-let the Alpha m-manipulate Toothless! I let h-him kill my dad!"

"No, it wasn't your fault! Baby, there was nothing you could've done!" Astrid said, begging that Hiccup would relent and see what she was going through with him like this.

Unfortunately, Hiccup didn't relent. "I could've taken Drago down that moment, I could've prevented the Alpha from Toothless! I could've saved more dragons, more lives! He would be alive if I wasn't such a FAILURE!"

With that, he punched the wall. There wasn't any damage, but Astrid knew it had to have hurt. What broke her heart was the sobs coming from his throat, constricting and depressing with each shiver.

"I could've done more...I could've..." Hiccup sobbed, as Astrid quickly hugged him, desperate to relieve the burden on his shoulders. Desperate to tell him how far he'd come, how far he's made it with growing up, physically and mentally. She wanted him to know how proud she was of him.

"Hiccup...you're hurting us. You're hurting me. Your drinking isn't doing you any good. It's tearing you up. It's tearing me up. Your dad saved your life, and here you are, wasting it with mead? I know I can never relate to what you've gone through. We lost our chief..." Astrid sniffled as she leaned closer.

She stroked his cheek, trembling ever so slightly with teary eyes. "And you lost your father..." she said.

Hiccup looked up with red and puffy eyes, tears on his cheeks, and a pleading expression on his slightly drunk face. He collapsed on her chest, now bawling pitifully. "I-I'm sorry..." he wailed. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Astrid started to break down as well. "Me too..." she said. "Remember, you aren't alone..."

"I'm not alone..." Hiccup sniffled. "I'm not..." As his vision filled with Astrid's grateful expression, he smiled before darkness took him away to a dreamless slumber.


End file.
